February 25 , 2025
Parking Lot to Wildlife Habitat Park: St. John Encampment Commons
Once cram with cars , this former Macy ’s parking circumstances at shuttered Highland Mall now gathers another kind of residential district : the great unwashed strolling winding paths of colourful wildlife - favorable plants . In 2014 , Austin Community College began revivify the plaza as a vibrant campus . As undertaking developed , they worked withdwg . landscape architectsto produce a waterwise urban park that respect historical roots as plate to theSt . John Regular Missionary Baptist Association . We watched the parkland take shape since groundbreaking in 2021 . In tardy May 2024 , we meet with Dr. Molly Beth Malcolm , ACC Emeritus Executive Vice Chancellor , Daniel Woodroffe , President of the United States of dwg . , and Cassie Gowan , dwg . plan director . “ We wanted to keep the onetime shopping centre and see what we could do rather than pull it down to work up it and make it sustainable . But part of that plan was to have beautiful green space . At the time , about 97 % of this area was impervious cover , and we require to convey it back to be beautiful space for our students , faculty , staff and the community , ” Dr. Malcolm said . border by Wilhelmina Delco Drive and Hage Drive , “ This was a story about converting parking lots to park . But it was so much more than that . It was about adaptative reuse . It was about lionize the role and importance of water and piddle direction , ” Daniel told us . “ Of native works , of understanding a sense of taking a neck of the woods that was destitute of Park and clear spaces and giving a place to gather and arrive together . ”In 2022 , industrial plant were still very young . Some were still recover from Winter Storm Uri ’s pound just workweek after installation . A few thing got squeeze , but most were unscathed , since Carrie had selected bulletproof Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , perennial and native bunch grasses . “ It ’s a huge will to the resiliency of native plants , ” she say . She layered evergreens with spikes of seasonal color . A million - gallon cistern and Austin Energy ’s reclaimed water system water the campus . Some of the inheritance lively oak were ship from other part of the former mall grounds . But they were identify on high mound of soil over the mineral pitch . So , dwg . stitched them together to organise the coliseum . Cassie layered them with native trees , including lacey oak , Mexican buckeye , redbud , yaupon holly and possumhaw holly . She pair vivacious color with soothe whites and ash gray that glisten during late night strolls after class . In the low breaker point next to the UFCU Pavilion , they create a deep poriferan garden to decelerate down stormwater and soak it into the dirt . Here , Cassie plant Mexican Ficus sycomorus , bald cypress tree , possumhaw holly , sabal pocket-size , switchgrass , Gulf muhly and groundcover frogfruit . Everything has repeat in size of it ( at least ) since this dip 2023 photo!Under the pavilion ’s soften light , every time of year celebrate a new point of view . sweet wattle ’s color palette subtly complements the purple light poles representing ACC ’s mascot , the Riverbats . Every time of year is swoonworthy , but especially in fall : fragrant , snowy - flowered almond verbena , frothy Gulf muhly , Lindheimer muhly , ‘ Henry Duelberg ’ salvia , and aster . “A lot of times a park might have just turf at the edges . We wanted it to finger more wild and fuzzy and a nod to the aboriginal grasses , ” Cassie say . On one pavement , she combines sideoats grama , blue grama , Mexican feather eatage , and switchgrass . Along Hage Drive , piffling bluestem companions with United States Department of State grass sideoats grama and gamy grama . Again , these pot have filled in quite a moment since this shot . “We love turn parking lots into park and taking essentially a lifeless , dead space and bring biography into it , ” Cassie said . There ’s nectar for pollinators and hummingbirds ; berries for wench , and yes , even ambrosia for the bats!“We can have a convocation here . We can have gather . you could have a class here . Someone else could just be enjoying their coffee , hear to the birds and check the squirrels and find out the grackle , ” Dr. Malcolm tell . “ And then , of course of study , the beautiful scene is here . ”“You go from possibly one bird , a grackle kind of pooping on everyone ’s machine , to now , this variety of cornucopia of species , this kind of refuge , ” Daniel added . “ It ’s been a really noteworthy story of transformation . ”
Plant inclination for St. John Encampment Commons
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